


the hardest thing to say

by parenthetic (renaissance)



Series: drarry drabbles [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Challenge Response, Drarry Discord Writers Corner Drabble Challenge, M/M, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 02:02:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14802227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renaissance/pseuds/parenthetic
Summary: Three years after the War, Draco tries to set things right.





	the hardest thing to say

**Author's Note:**

> this is not the first drarry i've ever written, but it's the first i've ever published. eep!
> 
> for writcraft's prompt - "there's something i need to tell you" - 343 words exactly
> 
> ao3 says different but i promise it is exactly 343 as confirmed by the all-knowing wordcounter.net >:(

The first time Draco tried to apologise, it was in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, three years to the day since the Battle. Draco saw Potter from behind, sitting up the front, while Draco took his rightful place at the back. He found Potter after the memorial service and grabbed him by the sleeve of his fine burgundy robes. Potter turned, someone shouted out, and then a pair of Aurors had Draco by the shoulders, pulling him away. Draco was certain that he deserved it.

The second time, Draco tried to write a letter, a plain prose testament to his sins. Word by word, he itemised his guilt until his actions were more dreams than memories, fragments of someone else’s apology. He drafted a dozen versions and threw each one into the fireplace. He kept very warm that night.

The third time was some months later, at the Ministry. Draco had just come out of a job interview—he was certain he’d bollocksed it up when they asked how he felt about his father’s imprisonment—when he bumped into Potter, also alone. Draco opened his mouth and immediately it went dry. Potter smiled as he walked away, with half a promise that maybe they’d see each other around.

The tenth time Draco tried to apologise, he and Potter were colleagues, unbelievably, and Draco had thought about apologising enough that now he kept a running tally of every time he tried and failed to say that one bloody word.

The twenty-seventh time, Draco didn’t manage to say it out loud, but he did manage to ask Potter if he wanted to grab a drink after work. He hadn’t expected Potter to agree to it.

The last time Draco tried to apologise was outside the bathroom at the Leaky Cauldron, tipsy enough to pretend he was more courageous than he could ever hope to be. Enough to open his mouth, to allow _sorry_ to form on his lips. _Sorry for—everything_.

Before he had the chance to say it, Potter kissed him.


End file.
